


Creature of the Night

by beatlelover22



Category: Rocky Horror Picture Show
Genre: Common Cold, F/M, Frank N. Furter Lives, Frank is sick and gets taken care of!!!, Hurt/Comfort, Sick Character, Sickfic, Sneezing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-17 15:36:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21056768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beatlelover22/pseuds/beatlelover22
Summary: Feel free to talk to me about commissions!





	1. A Cure for Loneliness

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to talk to me about commissions!

Castles can be horribly lonely, especially when located in Denton, Texas, in the middle of nowhere.

Dr. Frank-N-Furter lived (for the time being) in one of these giant castles — full of echoes and cobwebs and ghosts — along with his serving staff. Riff Raff, a balding being with piercing eyes, was constantly toeing the line, as far as Frank was concerned. His sister, Magenta, was especially close to Riff Raff, and her hair towered over her head with confidence.

And then there was Columbia. Dear, sweet Columbia. A soft smile and her gorgeous red hair set him on fire — an altogether lovely human.

Lately though, she’d fallen ill. Probably a headcold. Frank had done his best to take care of her — plenty of soup, endless glasses of water, and he’d even lent her his handkerchief — and his best had worked, sort of. After all, it wasn’t his fault. He wasn’t a natural-born caretaker and in no way was good at taking care of people, save for certain… situations.

She was no longer sniffling or sneezing, but she’d most likely passed it on to Frank.

He was holed up in his laboratory, which wasn’t unusual for him. Of course, they were in Texas for one primary reason: to explore and analyze the creation of life in all its forms. Because of this, whenever Columbia wished to be with or be in the company of Frank, she ventured down to the basement laboratory and found him, leaning over some machinery or some project he was working on. She didn’t know much about his work or even his studies, but she did know how important it was to him. It seemed almost a life or death matter.

Columbia was on the last step downstairs and her hand was placed on the metal doorknob, poised to open it, when she heard a muffled sound.

“_Heh’**TSSSCHOOO!**_”

She heard Frank sigh, exhausted, and decided to open the door. “Frank?”

Like Columbia had pictured him, he was leaning over something on his lab desk table. He hit his head on a hanging light fixture as he quickly turned around, startled by her voice.

“Oh, Columbia,” he said, clearing his throat in an effort to sound more himself. “What a lovely surprise.”

She looked at him and studied his long eyelashes, his full, pouting lips, before really noticing the pink tinge under his nostrils and on his cheekbones. He was almost as pale as the lab coat he was wearing.

“Frank, are you alright?”

He cleared his throat again and smiled, cocking an eyebrow. “Me? Of course.”

Frank nodded to the table and gestured for her to come in. Columbia gave him a soft smile and gently shut the door behind her. “What are you working on?”

He sniffled and ran a finger under his nose before snatching up his weapon and coyly pointing it at Columbia. “This, my dear,” he said, winking. “Is the Medusa Transducer.”

She watched his eyes sparkle with excitement and felt her stomach flip. _Oh, Frank._ “Well, what does it do?”

Frank thought about using the transducer on Columbia, he truly did. How lovely would it be to see her gorgeous body transformed into a work of smooth, cool stone? He imagined trailing his finger over Columbia’s cold cheek, before traveling down to her breasts, her flat stomach, her hips…

A sneeze pulled him out of his naughty thoughts and he turned away, letting the transducer clatter to the lab table. “_H-eh’**RRSCHHH!**_” 

The sneeze tore through his throat and he winced involuntarily at the twinge of pain he felt afterward.

“Bless you!” Columbia exclaimed, swallowing nervously. She hoped to God above that she hadn’t given Frank her cold.

“Excuse me,” he said. He picked up the weapon again. “This little baby right here can turn any living being to stone, immediately. Only for self-defense, of course.”

Frank winked. “Want to try her out?”

“Oh, gracious. I’m not so sure about that,” Columbia laughed nervously. “Me, with something as powerful as that? I’m not sure.”

He stepped closer to her, letting the transducer noisily fall back on the table’s surface. “What’s the matter, sweetie? You’ve handled more powerful weapons that this little one,” he murmured, grabbing her wrist and pulling Columbia closer to him.

His hand was cold on her skin, but she leaned into him, staring into his dark eyes. Frank cocked any eyebrow. “Is something wrong, my love? You look sh-shaken,” he said, breath hitching.

In a trace, she watched his nostrils flare as Frank dramatically pushed himself away from her. “_H-hihh… hh’**TSHUHHH! **H-heh’**RHFFFFF!**_”

Frank stood there and felt his cheeks flush from embarrassment. Why did he feel this shame in front of Columbia? Typically, Transylvanians didn’t feel humiliation in the way humans did, which is why Frank took such pleasure in watching the people of Earth become embarrassed and flustered. It felt different when he was the one who was affected.

A gentle touch to his elbow took him out of his daze. Columbia was staring lovingly up into his eyes. “Frank?”

He cleared his throat, willing his cheeks and ears to stop flushing. “Hmm?”

“You’re sick, aren’t you?”

Frank flashed her a confident smile. “We both know I’m not affected by the same things that tend to affect you Earthers.”

Columbia nodded solemnly. “Yes, I know, but—”

“Darling, I’m fine,” Frank said, gripping her shoulders. “I’m fine.”


	2. Giving in to the Madness

However, the next morning, Frank was not in his bedroom.

Columbia’s daily duties began with rousing Frank from his slumbers, first and foremost. But when she rapped on the door lightly with her knuckles and received no response, Columbia’s throat tightened with nerves.

“Frank?”

There was no response.

Columbia gently, ever so slowly opened the door to his bedroom and was genuinely surprised to see the bed empty. In fact, Frank’s king-sized bed was still made up from the day before. She knew this because she was the one who made it up, every single day.

She stepped back into the corridor and cupped her hands around her mouth. “Frank?”

Her voice reverberated through the castle and her heart sank when there was no response. Well, there was one response.

“Columbia, quiet your racket!” Riff Raff snapped from down the hall. He was scowling, as usual.

“Have you seen Frank lately?”

Riff Raff glared back at her. “No. Master has not visited the kitchen for his morning tea yet.”

Columbia cursed under her breath before turning on her heels. She tore down the staircase, almost falling down the last few steps, and turned the corner toward the basement.

The wooden steps creaked as she quickly descended them. “Frank?”

The silence made her increasingly worried, so much so that she didn’t even knock before entering his treasured lab.

And there he was.

Frank was collapsed on the cold, cement floor of his lab, unconscious but shivering. He was curled up on his side and had apparently tugged his crisp, white lab coat over himself as a means of warmth.

Columbia rushed to his side and placed a delicate hand on his forehead. She wasn’t very surprised when she felt the heat rising from his skin. But she did feel guilty.

“Frank?” She shook his shoulders gently, then harder when he didn’t wake immediately. “Frank!”

His tremendous eyelashes fluttered open. “Oh, hello darling.”

“Frank, why are you on the floor?” Columbia asked, alarmed. She eventually succeeded in tugging him into a sitting position.

Unfortunately, sitting up caused his sinuses to prickle and he snapped forward with two, ticklish sneezes. “_Hh’**RDSCHOO! **Huhhh… h-hah! Hah’**SZSHHHOO!**_”

Frank gasped again, nostrils quivering as he was on the edge of another gut-wrenching sneeze. The feeling quickly dissipated and he sniffed disapprovingly.

“Bless you, love,” Columbia whispered, petting at Frank’s face. “You’ve caught my cold, haven’t you?”

Frank tried to shake his head, but as he did, his plump, red lips stretched into a yawn-turned-sneeze. “_**HPFSSHSH!**_” He managed to pinch his nostrils shut, but the sneeze escaped anyway.

“Oh, Frank,” she murmured, helping him stand. “I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head, smiling. “Columbia, darling, it’s not your fault. My kind are not usually so s-susceptible to _suhhh_… s-such diseases,” he stammered, quickly placing a forefinger under his trembling nose.

“God, I’m so full of cold,” he snuffled miserably.

Columbia hated seeing him this way.

“Why don’t you lie down? I’ll take you up to your bedroom. I can take care of you, Frank. I can.”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t want them to see me like this. It’s humiliating.”

She knew by them he meant the others — Riff Raff, Eddie, Magenta — and she understood perfectly. Although, she thought, a lab was not an ideal place to take care of someone suffering from a nasty cold.

“But are you positive? I’m sure I could sneak up there somehow, and we could—”

Frank laughed, a harsh barking sound, thanks to his illness. “Sneak me up there? While I’m a sneezing, sniveling mess?” He scoffed. “I’m disgusting and they’ll all know it.”

“You’re not disgusting,” she argued, taking his hand. “You’re sick.”

He shrugged. “Close _ehhh_… e-enough.”

“But, I mean, you can’t stay in this drafty old lab overnight. You’ll only get worse. And there’s nowhere for you to sleep!”

“Actually,” he began before coughing weakly into his hand. “Actually there’s a cot in the back room.”

“A cot?”

Frank nodded. “I do sometimes rest here, Columbia.”

She dragged the dusty cot out of a closet into the main lab, per Frank’s request. Surely he’d change his mind and follow her upstairs, into the warmth of his large bed.

“Do you have any blankets?”

Frank opened his mouth to answer her, but snapped his head away to sneeze wetly to the side. “_H-huhh… huh! Hh’**WRHFFFHH!**_”

“Bless you,” she said, rubbing his back.

He shivered and nodded. “There are some b-blankets in the corner.” 

He felt miserable.

Frank crawled onto the cot, suddenly aware of how weak he felt. Not being able to do exactly what he wanted, when he wanted frightened him. But his fear began to dissipate as he felt Columbia’s comforting touch on his face.

“Hmm. You’re still warm.”

“That’s what a fever does, dearie.”

She rolled her eyes. “I know. Please, just lay down.”

Her heart sank as she watched him try to settle himself in the cot. Columbia gently draped a grey afghan over him and stared into his glassy eyes. “You feeling bad?”

Frank laughed sharply. “Oh, well, it’s not like I’ll perish right here.”

“That’s not what I’m asking.”

He sniffled, rubbing his tickling nose on his wrist. “I just _w-wihhh_… w-wish my nose didn’t — _heh’**TSHUHHH! **Hep’**SHAHHH!**_— didn’t itch so horribly,” he said, blinking back tears that his sinuses brought to his eyes.

“Oh, baby,” Columbia murmured, kissing the top of his forehead. “You poor thing.”

Frank hated to admit it, because he was usually solidly dominant, but he was starting to enjoy his role as the helpless victim. Seeing Columbia in charge gave him warm, electric feelings, even though he felt achy, sniffly and miserable.

“_Huh’**RHFFFSSHHHH!**_” The sneeze ripped through him and some part of Columbia was beginning to enjoy this too.

“Bless you,” she said, slyly kissing him on the tip of his nose.

“C-Columbia,” Frank stuttered, panicked. “D-don’t! My n-nose!”

He took in a large, shuddering gasp before sneezing helplessly into his hands. “I’ve got to— _Hh’**RRDSSCHHH! **H-huh’**RFSHHHH!**_”

She pressed a handkerchief into his trembling hands and he buried his face in it, partly due to his own embarrassment and partly due to his need to blow his nose.

Frank snuffled into it, feeling his cheeks and ears turn red again. Fuck this human emotion called humiliation.

“Ugh, I’m so full of cold,” he complained, lower lip jutting out as he pouted.

Columbia stroked his face and studied it. The earthy tones on his eyelids, his thick, arched brows. She wondered to herself how one being could be so expressive without actively saying anything at all.

“Oh, I know,” she said, not sure what else she could say at this point. I’m sorry?

Frank sat up, sniffling. “Honey, I simply can’t last like this for very much longer.” He scrubbed at the tip of his nose with the palm of his hand, trying to alleviate that infuriating, persistent itch.

While he was distracted, Columbia took her chance. She leaned into him, kissing at his jawbone before eventually finding his lips. And to her relief (and joy), Frank didn’t break away — he welcoming the contact with open arms.

In fact, Frank was thirsty for this romantic connection. It had been far too long since he’d had such contact with another, let alone a human. Transylvanians were much fun, of course — the constant flow of lust, the need for sex, the hunger for it — but humans were much more emotionally raw. And true, unpardoned emotion was something with which Frank sustained himself on.

“Frank,” Columbia moaned, biting at his lower lip.

He grabbed her shoulder, his hand blindly groping for her breast. “Darling, d-don’t stop.”

Unfortunately, he felt his eyes water with the need to sneeze and knew that as he was infected with a horrible headcold, that need would be impossible to stop.

Columbia felt his chest expand — heard his dramatic, surprised gasp — and her heart sank as he shakily pushed her away.

“A-apologies, dearest — _hh’**ASHHHOO! PSHHHOO!**_” He sneezed freely to the side in a full-bodied double.

“Bless you,” she said, breathless. He looked so beautiful in this helpless, desperate manner.

Frank was usually so effortlessly composed. Whenever he smirked, she could see hints of brilliant white, and of course his teeth were perfect. Now, his eyes seemed to droop with exhaustion and there were dark circles under his equally dark pupils. His twitching nostrils frequently gave him away and Columbia began to realize that she liked seeming him this way. Not weak per se, but uncomfortable — uncertain, even.

“Oh, I do feel quite disgusting,” Frank said, massaging the bridge of his nose gently. “I’m sorry you have to see me this way, Columbia.”

She shook her head. “Frank, you can’t help it. It’s not your fault.”

He signed, tired of it all suddenly. “You know, I’m going to go upstairs, darling.”

Frank stood up suddenly, towering over his companion, who was still kneeling by his cot. She watched him stand, then noticed him swaying. “Frank?”

His eyes were glazed over and he seemed to be staring out in front of him, at something she couldn’t see. “Frank, look at me.”

Instead, he swayed once more before crumpling to the laboratory’s cold floor.

“Frank!” she shouted, desperately trying to pull him back to his feet.

Upon realizing this would be impossible, Columbia managed to get his unconscious form back into the cot. She felt his forehead, which was unbearably warm.

“Oh, Frank,” she murmured, touching his cheek.

Columbia began removing Frank’s lab coat and clothes until he was clad only in his underwear. She gently unclasped his favorite pearl necklace and set it aside. 

Hurrying now, she quickly located the lab’s sink and faucet, and turned it on, letting the cold stream of water wet the cloth she held in her hand. Columbia returned to her love’s side and dabbed at his temple with the cool washcloth before folding it and placing it on his heated brow.

“Frank,” she whispered, trying to rouse him from his sleep. “Frank, please wake up.”

Columbia was brushing his black, unruly curls back from his forehead when he opened his eyes, slowly blinking.

“Columbia?” he croaked, coughing lightly.

She nodded and was surprised to feel tears in her eyes. She obediently blinked them away. “Yes, it’s me. I’m here.”

“What… where am I?”

“You’re in your lab, I— you’re sick,” she stammered, running her thin fingers through his hair. “But it’s alright now. We’re just brining your fever down.”

Frank inhaled shakily, coughing again. “Oh, it hurts. My muscles, they ache.”

“It’s probably the flu,” Columbia told him, stroking his cheek. “You’re alright.”

“I feel horribly cold,” he told her, his teeth chattering. “I’m not fevered, I’m cold.” 

Columbia kissed the top of his eyebrow, still touching his cheek gently. “I know. I’ll make it better.”

She felt a shiver course through his body and she suddenly felt guilty. Was this her fault? Columbia continued to touch him, gently as usual, and Frank felt his body light up. It was as if all his nerves were suddenly so alive — so full of life itself — that he could feel every last brush of her fingertips on his skin. Without realizing it, he moaned her name.

“Yes?” she asked, expectantly.

“I wish,” he began, but his breath caught as the tip of her finger accidentally brushed his cold-ridden nose.

“C-Columbia,” he stuttered, sitting up in alarm. “I _h-hahh_… h-have to— _huh’**RHHHSSHHOO! **Hahhh… h-hahH!_”

Frank’s face fell as the sneeze dissipated. “Apologies, love, I thought I still had to…” 

He trailed off as the need to sneeze returned full force and Frank turned away with another, drawn-out, torturous sneeze. “_H-huh… hehhh… h-hih’**HRRISCH!**_”

He straightened his back, sighing with satisfaction. “There’s sobethig aboud a good sdeeze that feels… electrifying,” he said thickly, sniffling.

“Oh, baby, you sound awful,” Columbia cooed. “You still feel cold?”

Frank nodded, snuffling into the back of his wrist. “I do.”

She wrapped the fuzzy afghan around his shoulders and wasn’t surprised when he shook with another thunderous sneeze.

“_Hah’**RRSCHOO!**_”

“Bless you!” Columbia murmured, placing her head in his lap. “I’m sorry I did this to you.”

Normally, Frank would tease Columbia until he could see the beginnings of tears in her eyes, just to provoke her into showing some true emotion. Some emotion that he, oddly enough, envied. But he could tell tonight that his condition was taking some toll on her and Frank sensed she felt… guilty.

He waved his hand dismissively. “I don’t kdow whad you’re talkig about,” Frank said, congested. “If anyone, I’b sure Riff Raff had something to do with this.”

Columbia smiled and laughed lightly. “Maybe.”

She placed her hand innocently on his crotch and then changed her mind, climbing into the cot with him. Normally, two beings wouldn’t be able to fit comfortably on one cot, but Frank’s cot was exceptionally long, given his impressive build, and luckily for Columbia, she was petite enough to fit in with him.

Columbia laid next to him and put her head on his chest. She was so close to him, Frank could smell her scent, even as congested and stuffed up as he was. The smell of lavender and rose water drifted up toward his nostrils, teasing and tickling his already irritated sinuses. He sighed shakily, willing himself not to sneeze and ruin this quiet moment that he didn’t usually get to experience.

She felt the steady rise and fall of Frank’s chest and noticed a hitch — an extra, desperate inhale in — and knew what was coming. But as usual, he tried to warn her.

“B-babe, I have to _sdehhh_… sd-deeze _ahh_… agaid,” he told her shakily, the corners of his lips pulling back into a tortured snarl. “_H-hihhhh… hh’**DSSCHHHHUH!**_”

“Bless—”

Columbia was interrupted by another hitching gasp from Frank, who did his best to turn his head away from her pleading eyes.

“_E-ehh… heh’**TDSSCHHHUH!**_” He snatched the handkerchief and shakily put it up to his quivering nostrils.

To Frank’s surprise, he felt Columbia’s small, soft hand over his, holding the embroidered piece of cloth to his trembling nose, desperate for a reprieve. “_H-hahh… ahhH! Hoo._”

He exhaled, somewhat defeated. “Id’s sduck.”

Columbia willed herself not to smile, but did so anyway. “It is?”

Frank nodded, snuffling miserably into the handkerchief. Columbia continued stroking his face and mischievously petted at his red nose. Frank’s nostrils flared at the touch and his eyes opened in panic.

“D-doe, Columbia! D-Dod’t! I’b godda— _hehhh… h-hihHH!_”

She delicately placed a finger under Frank’s quivering nostrils and give his nose a deliberate rub before pressing up again his nostrils. It felt good to be in control in some way with Frank. He was always so domineering, so in control, that it was empowering to experience their roles, reversed.

“Better?” she asked innocently.

Frank was afraid to move too much, certain he was on the verge of sneezing all over her in what was sure to be a disgusting display. “Y-yes,” he choked out, still fighting the need to sneeze. Damn this cold.

Columbia slowly removed her finger and the pressure she was putting on his pink-tinged nostrils, begging for release.

“Th-thags,” he told her shakily, deeming it finally safe to attempt to breathe through his nose again.

“Of course,” Columbia responded, closing her eyes and leaning down to kiss the tip of his cold-sensitive nose. She opened her eyes to see Frank struggling against a losing battle. His red lips were slightly parted as he gasped, lost in the beginnings of a hitching fit.

Frank’s eyelids fluttered shut against his will as he reared back to sneeze. He sucked in a sharp breath and buried his face into the closest thing to him: the afghan currently draped over his shoulders.

“_H-hehh… hih! **DSSZZHHHCHOO!** Hah... ehhH! **TDZSCHHHUH!**_”

“G-god,” he choked out, in the midst of an intense sneezing fit. “_Heh’**ESSSZSHOO!**_”

Columbia’s heart was racing after witnessing quite possibly the most erotic sneezing fit she’d ever seen anyone experience. “Bless you,” she said, sincerely.

Frank was still panting. “Th-thags, love.”

He laid back down, breath still hitching until it was quiet again. He let out a soft sigh that was punctuated with a liquid sniffle. “I’b dot sure how humads deal with this so —_ hahhhH!_ — so often,” he said thickly.

Columbia smiled fully, looking up at Frank. “Oh, there are ways to forget how miserable you feel,” she assured him.

“Oh, so the sdudent dow becomes the t-teacher,” Frank stammered, amused. “Columbia, darling, you dever _f-fahhh_… f-fail to surprise be.”

“Never?” she asked innocently, letting her hand trail down his clenched abdominal muscles, down, down, down to his tight underwear until she allowed herself to stop upon feeling the bulge in his garments.

Frank swallowed, surprised at her touch, and once again found himself gasping for air. How could such a simple touch leave him like this? A sweating, shivering mess, almost powerless to her touch.

He groaned as she worked at him and almost couldn’t believe Columbia had this effect on him. But then again, he wasn’t that surprised. Her fiery red pixie cut was proof enough for him.

Columbia continued to touch him and slipped her hand under the waistband of his underwear. She heard him audibly gasp and assumed it was because of the sheer pleasure he was feeling. He shuddered and she felt his chest rise as his breath began hitching. Oh. It wasn’t from her touching, it was from—

“_H-heh’**TDSSCHHHUH!**_” Frank let out a ferocious sneeze that tore through his frame. 

He moaned as Columbia continued to pleasure him, then let out another shivery sneeze.

“_H-hih’**DSSZZHHHCHOO!** Ah’**TDZSCHHHUH!**_”

“Bless you,” Columbia told him again, kissing him.


End file.
